Computer and communication technologies continue to advance at a rapid pace. Indeed, computer and communication technologies are involved in many aspects of business operations. For example, a business may be located in numerous places with computers at each location. Computers may allow a business to maintain data relating to the business operations, customers, services, etc. Employees of a business may enter the data into the computers by utilizing business applications that run on the computers. Applications may also allow the employee to manage the data after it has been entered into the computer.
Data stored in a computer or a computer system is typically organized into a file, a database, or another type of data repository. It is not uncommon for an enterprise (e.g., corporation, small business, non-profit institution, government body, etc.) to have data stored in several different types of data repositories. There may be many reasons for this. For example, an enterprise may have inherited some data repositories as a result of mergers, acquisitions or the like with other enterprises. Alternatively, different departments within the same enterprise may have different needs which are best satisfied by different types of computer systems having different types of data repositories. The different data repositories maintained by an enterprise may be located in a variety of different computer systems, which may be dispersed around an office, around a campus, or even around the world.
Given the complexities with enterprise computer systems and databases, as shown above, providing customer support for such an organization can be difficult and costly. One problem that enterprises often have to deal with in an on-line environment is the reset of passwords and suspended accounts. Industry statistics show that it is one of the largest costs associated with customer service, and also that is a security issue. Telephone support personnel are asked to “test” the caller with predetermined questions to authenticate the caller's identity. Upon authentication, telephone support personnel can manually reset a user password or reinstate a suspended user's account.
When computer customer support is needed in a business, typically at least one or more users' productivity is being impacted. In addition, the time it takes to solve the problem, as well as the actual cost of the support, can be costly to the business. As such, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for providing computer-related support to users in a computing environment.